Spells
Spells are, in general, a type of talent that uses mana points. The exception is Cannibalize, which restores your mana points at the cost of your hit points. Some enemies can cast spells: sometimes ones that are available to players, sometimes ones that are only available to npcs. You can also cast spells from charms, wands, and scrolls. This costs charges or consumes the item, instead of costing mana. Damage and duration of spells is increased by magic power or the elemental power that corresponds to the specific spell. Targeting A spell may have to be targeted at a creature, or it may be an area spell. An area spell can targeted at a tile that has a creature on it--but it can also be targeted at an empty space, or an object. For example, Fire Ball is an area spell, so if you want to hit two enemies that are diagonal from each other, you can target an empty square that's next to both of them, including both of them in the spell's area. A few spells don't require you to pick a target at all: either they affect only you, or they summon something, or they're burst spells that automatically have you as the origin point. Range A spell's range is expressed as the maximum number of squares away that the square you're directly targeting can be. (Area spells can affect squares outside of this range.) Squares that are on a diagonal count as being further away than squares that are in a direct horizontal or vertical line away from you. So, if a spell can be cast on something that's five squares directly to your right, it can only be cast on something up to three squares away at a 45 degree angle, and four or five squares away at an in-between angle. This is the same as ranges for weapons. Targeting Creatures For a spell that has to be targeted at a creature, you don't need line of sight. You can target a creature with, for example, Charm or Shock, even if there's a creature or object between you and it. However, there can't be a wall or part of a wall between you and the target. Area of Effect When targeting an area spell, you generally need line of sight to your target, just like you do when targeting a weapon. There are a few types of Area Of Effect (AOE). The most common is a burst: the spell's effect spreads out in all directions from the target square. It doesn't go through walls or around corners: the origin point needs to have line of sight to a square to affect it. Bursts come in several sizes, indicated by the maximum number of squares from the target square: *0 = 1 square (this is still an area spell, if the way it works is the same) *1 = + shape *1.5 = 3x3 *2 = 3x3 + 1 in the center in each direction *3 = 5x5 + 1 in the center in each direction Some burst spells have areas that increase as you invest more talent points in them. For most burst spells, you target a square some distance away. With these, if you're inside the area of effect, you will be affected. For a few, however, you don't choose a target square and the spell is instantly cast when you click on it, with you as the origin point. With these, you're not considered inside the area of effect. A spell's area of effect can also be a line. In this case, the spell affects a line of tiles between the caster and the target square. The line cannot include a wall or anything else you can't shoot through, but it can sometimes be made to go around corners and affect squares that aren't strictly in your line of sight. You can also choose to target a square closer than the full distance, and therefore have it affect fewer than the maximum number of squares--this can sometimes be advantageous if the line needs to be at a specific angle to affect more enemies, or particular enemies. Finally, a spell's area can be a cone. This is like a burst, except it doesn't spread in all directions--just inside a limited angle. Different enemies inside the same area of effect may take different amounts of damage. Type of Spells: * Flame Spells * Cold Spells * Toxic Spells * Shock Spells * Enchantment Spells * No Element Spells Category:Concepts